My testy reply took Hakeem aback, and he fumbled his napkin searching for a save, “No. I just- The sex was good that night.”
I managed to calm down, deciding to let his ill-made comment slide by, “No action tonight. I’m getting past my period.” I threw back the remainder of my drink, adding with a smile, “But I will take some dessert.”
A disheartening look appeared on Hakeem’s face, he was clearly hoping to get lucky tonight. He sighed,
“Well. I guess I’ll call Mr. Alabi over here to get us some cake.” He managed a joking smile, looking around for our waiter.
I laughed, “You would like that, wouldn’t you? Mr. Alabi waiting on you for once.”
He smirked, “A man can dream.”
Almost on cue, my husband’s phone rang.
Before he even had a chance to reach for it, I nearly shouted, “Oh no. Not tonight. Hakeem don’t-”
He looked at me in defeat, “Folake, please. It might be an emergency.”
“No sex for a week if you answer it.” I challenged him, already knowing he would still pick it up.
I leaned back in my chair in disgust.
“Mr. Alabi.” Hakeem spoke, sitting up at attention as he waited for his boss’s reply.
I watched as my husband nodded, speaking into his phone, “Mr. Femi, I remember him. Yes. Certainly.”
Hakeem spoke with such overt professionalism when speaking with Mr. Alabi, it was almost comical. He looked up at me. “Okay. That shouldn’t be a problem. Alright sir. I’ll add it to the calendar. Okay. Enjoy your weekend.”
“Is the world ending?” I chided as he put the phone down on the table.
“No, but you aren’t gonna like it.” Hakeem replied.
“Oh god. What is it?” I braced myself for whatever might come.
“Two weeks from now, dinner at Mr. Alabi’s apartment. Do you remember Mr. Femi?” He gently answered.
I sighed, nodding my head, “Big client of yours. Lives in the same building as Mr. Alabi.”
“His former business partner is flying in, has a lot of money, and is looking for new software for his new business venture. Mr. Alabi would like me there to close the deal, and since Mr. Femi’s wife will also be in attendance, he’ll like you there as well.”
“Why do you need to frame it so professionally Hakeem? I’m your wife, remember? Can’t you just say we have a dinner?”
He frowned, realizing his own odd habits, “Sorry.”
I added, “I just don’t understand why that couldn’t have waited until Monday.”
My husband shrugged, “You know how he is.”
“Yes. I do.” Was my reply.
My day job, and career, was that of a Math Teacher. I love Algebra, and currently teach it to SS2 students at a private secondary school. I was sitting in the teacher’s lounge, the day of the scheduled dinner at Mr. Alabi’s apartment. The news was on, and the weather report was troubling.
I called my husband, who answered, “Hey love.”
“Hi honey. I’m calling because I’m guessing the dinner tonight is cancelled.” I probed.
Hakeem was already in tune with what my concern was, “No actually. Mr. Alabi promised that it’ll wrap up early, the storm shouldn’t hit until tomorrow morning.”
I sighed, frustrated. “I really hope so Hakeem. I don’t want to get stuck in a flood.”
“Don’t worry. If it runs long I’ll tell Mr. Alabi that we have to leave, to beat the weather.” He replied.
“Sure you will.” I replied, amused by that idea.
“I will. Look, I gotta go. I’m walking into a meeting.” His voice was hurried.
To say I was angry, would have been a serious understatement. It was already coming down heavily on our drive into town.
“This is honestly ridiculous Hakeem.” I voiced my distaste as we arrived at Mr Alabi’s mansion, the rain was coming down around us as we headed into the lobby. The security man even looked surprised to see a visiting arrival, and made sure to note that services would be shutting down early tonight.
“We’ll be quick.” Hakeem promised.
“No we won’t.” I knew.
His voice boomed when he opened the door. “Hakeem, Folake. Thank you for braving the weather, we’ll try to make this quick.”
“No problem Mr. Alabi.” My husband replied, shaking his boss’s large hand.
Mr. Alabi gave me a look with his piercing, dark eyes, adding, “Lovely as always, Folake”
“Thank you.” I replied, both annoyed by, and glad to receive his compliment. I expected to be somewhat angered to see Mr. Alabi again, considering what happened last time. In reality, I wasn’t, and
I actually found myself feeling strangely excited to be back in his company. I slowly moved into the large open space that took up the majority of his loft-style penthouse.
His apartment was always impressive, large vaulted ceilings with an incredible view of the city below. It was beautifully lit, and elegantly furnished, with tasteful finishes on nearly every square inch of the home. The large main space made it an ideal place for the various parties; it also included his bedroom, an office, and a large kitchen.
I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach when I noticed how heavily the rain was already falling outside one of his expansive windows.
The anxiousness only increased when I then felt Mr. Alabi place his hand on my waist, as he casually led me deeper into the apartment. Hakeem followed in tow. Once again, my husband was bearing witness to his more assertive boss, and simply followed behind as Mr. Alabi held me by my waist. Why was Hakeem so willingly submissive in this man’s presence?
I glanced upwards at his towering frame, noting his handsome profile. My nose picked up on Mr. Alabi’s patented scent, some kind of cologne that had tinges of vanilla and masculinity. It was hard to describe, but I had grown to love it. I even asked him what it was once, for Hakeem to use. He chuckled, joking that it was his natural aura.
We passed his free-standing wine bar, filled with expensive liquors, reds, and whites. It was then that I saw three people sitting around his large dining table, sipping on various cocktails.
“Mr. Femi and Mrs. Femi. I would like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Hakeem.” The three of them stood from the table, both men were dressed well, and of average height and stature, not unlike
Hakeem, although I did consider Hakeem to be more attractive than either. Mrs. Femi was a reasonably attractive woman, maybe in her forties. All three of them looked very well to do.
“I believe we’ve met.” Hakeem offered to Mr. Femi as they shook hands, jokingly. They saw each other quite often at the office.
“I believe we have.” Mr. Femi replied, adding, “Thanks for braving the weather, we’ll try to make this quick.”
‘Everyone keeps saying that, but none of you have to worry about heading back in this mess.’ I thought, to myself.
“My, aren’t you absolutely stunning.” The woman offered. Mr. Alabi gently let go of his hold on me, and I moved to shake her hand.
“Thank you.” I paused, noticing her gorgeous dress, continuing, “You are as well.” I replied, smiling.
“You’re too kind dear. Please, call me Oluchi.”
“Folake.” I replied.
Dinner was surprisingly pleasant. So pleasant that my worry over the weather fell towards the back of my mind. The catered meal was delicious, and as with any gathering at Mr Alabi’s place, the alcohol flowed in over-abundance.
The conversation between the men was mostly business, however, throughout the meal I caught Mr. Alabi looking at me with his captivating eyes. It was a common occurrence, and like I previously admitted, I had shamefully come to enjoy the excitement that came along with his attention.
Unlike most men, when I would catch his eyes, he wouldn’t baulk. He would simply continue to gaze at me, almost predatory in his confidence. It would always cause me to break, and to look away in embarrassment. Worse, it would even yield a fluttering sensation in my stomach, and sometimes even an inexplicable heat between my legs. I would look to my husband for relief, for some kind of safety, but he was distracted with his own conversations, consumed by the business of the evening.
After an hour had passed, and most of the food had been consumed, the three men disappeared into the office to “talk numbers”. I was probably better suited for the task, the Math teacher inside of me knew. Oluchi and I remained wine glasses in hand.
Through the dinner, we discussed our various careers, and aspirations. Oluchi was an accomplished novelist, even penning several plays that made it to screen adaptations. I offered some commentary on education and arguments for increasing teacher salaries.
She was receptive to all of it and even added her own insight on the matter. Oluchi was also riotous, a legitimate treat to converse with, unabashed, and unafraid to engage in risque conversation as well.
“So, how did you and Hakeem end up together?” She probed.
I could sense there was more meaning behind her question than the general inquiry of it.
“Well. We met shortly after university, at a tech seminar. He was very bold back then, he came right up to me, asked me out. I wasn’t used to that sort of thing from guys who weren’t super jocky. It intrigued me.” I took a sip of wine, continuing, “Turns out we had a lot in common. He’s great at making me laugh.”
“That’s very important.” Oluchi conceded.
I continued, “He asked me to marry him only six months in, and I guess the rest is history.”
She nodded in response.
I added, “Sure he’s maybe not the tallest gu-”
“-I’m sure he’s an excellent catch.” She offered as a saving interruption, not wanting me to embarrass myself with unnecessary reasoning. She added, “He reminds me a bit of my man, when he was younger. About the same build, and a similar way about them.”
“Mr. Femi?” I asked, confirming what I already assumed.
She nodded.
We sat in silence for a moment, before I added. “He’s also Yoruba, and if I brought home anything else, my parents would have disowned me.” It was a joke, well, mostly. That comment earned a hearty laugh from Oluchi, which contagiously spread back to me. We were both enjoying the humour of the moment when a deep voice suddenly interrupted us. I looked up to see Mr. Alabi, wine bottle in hand, already filling my glass.
“How about a top off for two beautiful women.”
“Why thank you dear.” Oluchi offered.
“Thank you.” I added, once again enjoying his aura and intoxicating scent.
Before he could say anything else, Hakeem called out from the other room, “Mr. Alabi. Please take a look at this!”
He shook his head in seeming exasperation, “I’m needed. I’ll be right back.”
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